Stanislaus County Deputy Arrested for Alleged Sexual Abuse of Minor
Above: Matthew Dessert booking photo
(Courtesy of Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office)
A Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputy has reportedly been arrested for the alleged continuous sexual abuse of a minor.
The Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release on Tuesday, September 26, that deputy Matthew Dessert (40, of Oakdale) has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor 14 or 15 years of age, penetration with a foreign object of a victim under the age of 18, sexual battery, and physical abuse of a child.
The alleged crimes came to light when a school counselor contacted detectives on the morning of Monday, September 25, to alert them that a student had come forward to report sexual abuse. Detectives went to the school and spoke with the victim, who told them she knew Dessert and that the abuse began when she was nine years old.
Dessert, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2014, turned himself in to be interviewed by detectives, and was ultimately arrested and booked on $400,000 bail. He posted bail and was released later that day.
He has since been placed on leave and his authority as a peace officer has been revoked, the Sheriff’s Office said.
